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Comparing JavaScript Frameworks

JavaScript frameworks have revolutionized web development forever. They are now powerful enough to provide a comprehensive user experience simply on the frontend of a modern website. With so many frameworks now available, it can be difficult to know which one is the most effective. This article will break down three of the top JavaScript frameworks: AngularJS, ReactJS, and EmberJS.

AngularJS, a Google product, is the most widely-used framework for single page web application development. Initially released in 2009, Angular extends the capabilities of HTML by using Angular directives to build a dynamic user interface. When a user interacts with the interface, Angular uses two-way data binding to synchronize the view and model of the page. This is convenient because it eliminates the need to write manual code for manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM) since it is automatically updated. Angular continues to be updated with each new release, a critical component for improving the framework and keeping developers engaged. Angular 2.0 was released in May 2016 and included better server-side rendering, however the update rewrote much of the original framework, increasing the learning curve for understanding how the framework operates.

ReactJS, released in 2013, is the foundation of both Facebook and Instagram. React is extremely effective at building large scale dynamic applications, something that is evident when a user refreshes a Facebook page and information from one’s followers is quickly updated and displayed on the web page. It is one of the fastest growing frameworks and offers the advantage of re-usable reactive components. React, unlike Angular and Ember, uses one-way data binding to cater specifically to the view. React Native, a framework of the React library, makes switching from web to mobile simple, and it uses the same principles that make react extremely fast for web applications.

EmberJS, created in 2011, synthesizes the best components of Angular and React. It uses two-way data binding and server-side rendering of DOM to provide a comprehensive user experience. Ember has managed to remain a top framework by actively adding new features, included in the release of Ember 2.0 in 2015. This update was modified to enhance Glimmer, Ember’s lightning-fast rendering engine. Ember is most effective when a developer has plans for a large scale application because frameworks exist to make sure developers write scalable code and avoid bottlenecking themselves down the road.